Platte County’s new look lineup with just two seniors in the top seven made a strong debut to the season, placing three in the top 10 and finishing third in the Tim Nixon Invitational’s Silver Division on Saturday at Capital Federal Park in Liberty. The Pirates posted a team total of 64 — just 14 off of champion Father Tolton and nearly 50 clear of fourth-place West Platte.
In fact, all seven of Platte County’s top runners were in the top 30, and that included freshmen Donavin Ness and Blake Herron. The Pirates entered nine total into the field with five having significant previous experience at the varsity level, and sophomore Ben Letcher wasn’t even in the fold.
Platte County junior Andrew Johnson runs in the Tim Nixon Invitational on Saturday at Capital Federal Sports Complex in Liberty.
Platte County returns five members of of last year’s team qualifier for the Class 4 Missouri State Cross Country Championships, and only three factored in the scoring Saturday.
Andrew Johnson, a junior and the new No. 1 for Platte County, impressed with a fourth-place showing in 16 minutes, 26.10 seconds on what turned out to be a fast course. He was less than 2 1/2 seconds off his personal-best of 16:23.90 set last year at state as the Pirates’ No. 2.
The key to Saturday’s team finish were the complementary efforts of junior Kade Meinke (ninth, 17:17.30) and senior Kage Audas (10th, 17:34.60). Both were key cogs at the back of the lineup a year ago now taking on much bigger roles after the graduation of No. 1 Andrew Early and No. 2/3 Jace Trimble.
At state a year ago, Audas and Meinke finished back-to-back in 96th and 97th with almost identical times. Both set PRs at the Tim Nixon Invitational, Audas just barely better than last year’s state time while Meinke was more than 17 seconds faster.
Platte County’s final three scoring runners Saturday were a newcomer to the main lineup (sophomore Tanner Jenks, 21st, 18:20.50) and a name back in contention for a regular spot in the top seven (senior Aspyn Nelson, 25th, 18:35.70). Nelson has been a contributor at times in previous years but yet to be a mainstay.
Ness (27th, 18:39.40) and Herron (18:46.60) rounded out the top seven.
The depth for Platte County showed with senior Tanner Johnson, a state runner a year earlier, in 34th (19:15.80) while junior Scott Sellers in 36th (19:33.90) was a top junior varsity performer a year ago. There were 60 runners total in the Silver Division field, which included all teams not in the largest classes for Missouri and Kansas.
